What to See in Chandigarh - Top Sights and Attractions

Garden in Chandigarh, India. Zakir Hussain Rose Garden, is a botanical garden in Chandigarh, India and spread over 30 acres of land, with 50,000 rose-bushes of 1600 different species. Named after India's former president, Zakir Hussain and created in 1967 under the guidance of Mohinder Singh Randhawa, Chandigarh's first chief commissioner, the garden has the distinction of being Asia's largest. The garden has not only roses, but also trees of medicinal value. Some of the medicinal plants that can be spotted here are bel, bahera, harar, camphor and yellow gulmohar. The rose plants have been planted in carved-out lawns and flower beds.

Apart from serving as a host of other events, the Zakir Rose Garden serves as the venue for hosting an annual rose festival called Rose Festival, a major cultural event in Chandigarh during February or March. Celebrated mainly as a tribute to the magnificence of the rose itself, the attractions include food, drinks, joyrides, and contests of varying nature, such as photography, gardening, landscaping, bonsai, and Rose Prince and Princess. The contests are open to the residents or institutions from nearby places.^[2]

Ground in India. The Inderjit Singh Bindra Stadium is a cricket ground located in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, Punjab. It is popularly referred to as the Mohali Stadium. The stadium was built by Geetanshu Kalra from Ambala City and is home to the Punjab team. The construction of the stadium took around ₹ 25 crore and 3 years to complete. The stadium has an official capacity of 26,950 spectators. The stadium was designed by Ar. Khizir and Associates, and constructed by R.S. Construction Company based in Chandigarh. Inderjit Singh Bindra stadium is home of Punjab cricket team and Punjab Kings. The stadium is named after former BCCI president & former PCA president Inderjit Singh Bindra.

The floodlights here are unconventional compared to other cricket stadiums, in that the light pillars are very low in height. This is to avoid aircraft from the nearby Chandigarh airport colliding with the light pillars. That is the reason behind the stadium having 16 floodlights. As of December 2019, it has hosted 13 Tests, 25 ODIs and 5 T20Is.^[3]

Museum in Chandigarh, India. Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, is a premier museum of North India having collections of Gandharan sculptures, sculptures from ancient and medieval India, Pahari and Rajasthani miniature paintings. It owes its existence to the partition of India in August, 1947. Prior to the partition, much of the collections of art objects, paintings and sculptures present here were housed in the Central Museum, Lahore, the then capital of Punjab. The museum has one of the largest collection of Gandharan artefacts in the world.

After partition, the division of collections took place on April 10, 1948. Sixty percent of objects were retained by Pakistan and forty percent collection fell in the share of India.

The museum was inaugurated on 6 May 1968 by Dr. M. S. Randhawa, the then Chief Commissioner of Chandigarh.^[4]

Park in Chandigarh, India. The Japanese Garden is a park located in Sector 31 in union territory of Chandigarh. Built in 2014 on 13 acres of Land, by Indian Government, it was inaugurated by Shivraj Patil on 7 November 2

014. It consists of water bodies, pagoda towers, water falls, meditation centre, a buddha idol and golden bamboos. This is first ever garden in Chandigarh with Japanese touch. The garden has been developed at a cost of Rs 6 crore.

The Japanese Garden consists of two phases. The Phase-1 was inaugurated on 7 November 2014 and the Phase-2 of the park was opened to public on 4 June 2016. Both the phases of the park are connected by a tunnel decorated by beautiful Japanese paintings on both sides. The garden is designed using Japanese architecture and each of the elements in the garden is given a unique Japanese touch.^[8]

City in India. Mohali, officially known as Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, is a planned city in the Mohali district in Punjab, India, which is a commercial hub lying south-west of Chandigarh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Mohali district. It is also one of the six Municipal Corporations of the State. It was officially named after Sahibzada Ajit Singh, the eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh.

Mohali has developed rapidly as an IT hub of the state of Punjab, and has thus grown in importance. The Government of Punjab has initiated significant infrastructure and recreation projects in attempts to increase the standard of living in Mohali. Roads have been built to create networks between Mohali and Chandigarh International Airport to boost its international connectivity.

Mohali was earlier a part of the Rupnagar district and was carved out and made a part of a separate district in 2006.^[11]

City in India. Panchkula is a planned city and district headquarter in the Panchkula district, part of Ambala division in Haryana, India. The origin of the name Panchkula came from the place where five irrigation canals meet. It forms a part of an adjoining area to the Chandigarh, Mohali and Zirakpur. It is approximately 4 km southeast of Chandigarh, 105 km southwest of Shimla, 44 km from Ambala and 259 km northeast of New Delhi, the national capital. It is a part of the Chandigarh capital region or Greater Chandigarh. The Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula metropolitan region collectively forms a Chandigarh Tricity, with a combined population of over two million.

The city hosts the Chandimandir Cantonment, the headquarters of the Western Command of the Indian Army. In 2011, Panchkula city had a population of 211,355 of which male and female were 111,731 and 99,624 respectively. It is a planned city like Chandigarh, with a sector system.^[12]

The Sanitary Garden or Kala Sagar is an art exhibition in Chandigarh, India consisting of sculptures made from toilets and other sanitary items.

The garden is a unique government museum where the world's largest collection of art created purely from damaged or discarded sanitary items is exhibited. The collection of artworks was created by the artist Vijay Pal Goel, who founded the project in 1998. The Sanitary Garden is situated in sector 36-D, Chandigarh UT, India.

The main objective of the project is to generate mass awareness for the reuse of waste materials for environmental protection and to establish a tourist place for disabled people such as the mentally challenged, visually impaired and physically handicapped.

The artist was honoured by the Governor of Punjab with the prestigious State Award on Indian Independence Day in 1998 for his contribution to the field of art.^[14]

City Bird Sanctuary Chandigarh or Parrot Bird Sanctuary Chandigarh is a bird sanctuary situated in sector 21 of the city of Chandigarh, India. It is primarily habitat of parrots. Hundreds of parrots live here. They fly in flocks in the morning and evening from here. There are two parks adjoining to this sanctuary. Flocks of parrots sit on the trees of these parks also. It is the second wildlife sanctuary of Chandigarh. Sukhna wildlife sanctuary near Sukhna Lake is another wildlife sanctuary of the city. It is notified under Section 18 of the Wildlife Act, 1972.

The parrots wake up and sleep as per Photoperiodism. The Municipal Corporation of U.T. Chandigarh installed high post lights affecting the sleep pattern of the parrots. The Tribune (Chandigarh) highlighted the problem caused to the parrots after a local resident and bird lover, Harman Singh Sidhu brought it to their notice. The Wildlife Department, Chandigarh was apprised of the problem and the high post lights were switched off.

The park is also known for its beautifully designed benches, which the teenagers popularly refer to as "Taj Mahal Benches".^[16]

Court. Punjab and Haryana High Court is the common High Court for the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh based in Chandigarh, India. Sanctioned strength of Judges of this High Court is 85 consisting of 64 Permanent Judges and 21 Additional Judges including Chief Justice. As of 28 March 2022, there are 48 Judges in the High Court, comprising 42 Permanent and 6 Additional Judges.

The court building is known as the Palace of Justice. Designed by Le Corbusier, it and several of his other works were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in July 2016.

Past judges include Madan Mohan Punchhi, P. Sathasivam, Tirath Singh Thakur, Jagdish Singh Khehar and Ranjan Gogoi who were elevated to the Supreme Court of India and became Chief Justice of India.^[17]